Sir Arthur Evans
Many people dedicate their lives to history and uncovering the past. Sir Arthur J. Evans was one of the most well-known in the late 1800’s. His discoveries of the Minoans still fascinate historians today. His work is critical in understanding much of the ancient worlds around Greece.
His Past
During his life, Evans was one to travel. Europe was a familiar stomping ground and understanding history was his forte. It was in 1884 that the Ashmolean Museum located in Oxford obtained him as curator. To describe the museum as needing some love and tender care would be an understatement. His goal was to not only clean up the museum but to make it something more.
The next few years found Evans writing on various archeological subjects. It was not long before many of them turned to Ancient Greece. This began to fascinate him. Information on the Bronze Age of Greece was limited. Evan’s attention was drawn to a site in Crete that had previously been worked on by another man, Minos Kalokairinos. He found one room full of jars and a few other rooms, but his digging was stopped by the Turkish authorities who at the time ruled Crete. Even Heinrich Schliemann attempted to purchase the excavation site, but was unable to.
Knossos
A few years later, Crete won its independence from Turkey. Evans was able to fund the…